Vol.2019 No.2 - February 18 Solutions Series Recap

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On February 11th, we were excited to welcome business leaders, industry experts, elected officials, local residents, and BECMA members to Roxbury Community College's Media Arts Center for our Second Annual Solutions Series. Whether you participated in person or joined us via live-stream, all walked away with valuable insight into the work being done to address racial and economic disparities in the Commonwealth.

We began the program honoring two individuals whose businesses are having a substantial economic impact on our communities. Mr. Marvin Gilmore received our 2019 Lifetime Pinnacle Award, and Mr. Anthony Samuels received our 2019 Business Excellence Award. Following a short ceremony, we welcomed presentations about the Pacesetters initiative at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Business Equity Initiative at Eastern Bank, the role of the Boston Foundation in supporting the growth of Black businesses, and the creative efforts of WeWork to diversify all aspects of its business model. View the live-stream link to learn more!

Thank you to Roxbury Community College and their staff for supplying the space and equipment, and to all of the Black-owned businesses who provided supreme quality services that night:

To celebrate Black History Month at MIDA we are welcoming guests Monday to Friday from 5 - 6PM for the entire month of February to enjoy a special happy hour menu complimented by signature cocktails.

The proceeds from these menu offerings will be donated to both the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA).

The goal of our month long event is to bring people together to celebrate diversity in our great city and in the neighborhood we call home at the corner of the South End and Roxbury.

Thank you for your support of BECMA and the community, Chef Williams!

WE HAVE A NEW OFFICE!

We are excited to share that we have a new office at WeWork, a co-working and private office space provider with locations all over the world. We believe it is important to collaborate with Black businesses and organizations and have a voice at the table with elected and appointed government officials. In order to continue connecting our member businesses to important contract opportunities and individual members to family-sustaining jobs, we determined that this move will put us in direct contact with those whose decisions impact our goals. We look forward to welcoming our members to our new space through future programming!